Significant difficulties are experienced by users when programmable complex devices are infrequently used or programmed, or when a user attempts to use uncommon functions of these devices, such as, for example video cassette recorders (hereinafter “VCRs”). Studies have concluded that 80% of users cannot correctly program their VCRs. This has been due, in part, to the fact that manufacturers continue to add more features to existing devices, without simplifying those which already exist.
People learn most efficiently through the interactive experiences of doing, thinking, and knowing. For ease-of-use, efficiency, and lack of frustration of the user, utilizing the device should be intuitive. Users should be able to operate the device without referring to an instruction manual. Well-designed products should contain visual clues which prompt and convey their meanings, however, prior art devices do not always live up to this ideal. This problem is accentuated by various manufacturers and designers who focus on the production and design of feature-rich systems, rather than on ones which are also “User Friendly” and thus easier to use. Therefore, many products are extremely complex and thus difficult to use, thereby preventing all but the most technically advanced people from using them.
The act of programming, or determining a sequence of operations to be performed by, for example, a VCR, several steps are required. In addition to setting the clock, the user must assign a program number, set the current date and current time, select the start and stop times, choose the channel is from which to record, and choose a tape speed. These actions require a minimum of four actuators (“Program”, “+”, “−”, and “Enter”). Presently, some VCR controls contain up to 123 buttons, double function keys, and symbols which are not immediately recognized by the user.
In order to simplify commonly-used functions, a number of methods have been devised. Certain VCRs employ a bar-code reader in order to allow entry of programming steps from a menu of functions, or from an encoded description of an event to be programmed. However, this method suffers from the limitation that the channel, time and duration must be available in encoded form, otherwise the use of the device will not simplify the use or programming of the VCR. These machines come with a laminated sheet of bar codes. In order to program the VCR, the user must press a button on a wand, which lights its tip, and then run or pass the tip over a bar-code, to set each step separately. Finally, when all the information has been scanned in, the user must press the “Transmit” button. The “VCRplus+” is a device which allows the entry of a code representing a channel, time, date and duration of a program to be recorded, which when entered into the remote control device, is translated into commands for programming the VCR, and transmitted through an infrared link to the VCR, thus programming the VCR. This system has the limitations that the published codes must be available, and manually entered, which may be thus be erroneously entered, and the system does not allow for rescheduled programs, so that any variation in schedule will result in a defective recording. The time and date in the VCR device must also be set accurately for this system to operate.
On-screen programming systems exist; however, these generally require the user to scroll through menus and option choices without allowing direct entry of programming information. Direct-entry systems are available with, for example, programmable controllers with keypad entry. However, these do not generally have full information visual displays, meaning that all vital information is not or cannot be simultaneously displayed, and must be “multiplexed”, meaning that data must share display space with other data, displayed at different times. In a VCR with on-screen programming, all programming information feedback is displayed on the television screen, and prompts are provided to guide the user through the necessary steps. Some VCRs have numeric keypads to enter the information, while others allow choices to be entered by the selection method, which depends on the use of “up” and “down” arrow keys to select a desired option.
The other major presently used method, which is available on most VCRs, as well as other types of programmable devices, is Display Panel Programming. This method is generally inadequate because is full instructions are not normally available on the display panel, and the amount of information simultaneously displayed is limited. Users do not need a television set to see the displayed information, but they might have trouble reading the small, usually multifunctional multiplexed display and keypad. When programming the VCR, information may be entered on the display panel using the selection method, with either the “up” key or both “up” and “down” keys, or by direct entry in devices that support such a system.
The remote control device of a VCR is often the primary input device, and it sometimes has control functions not accessible from a keypad input present on the VCR itself. Remote controls often contain many buttons, which may be found overwhelming and confusing by the user. This results in under-utilization of the various actuators or buttons, and consequently, various useful features are unused or inaccessible, or the programming operation is inefficient. The extra clutter results in a greater “search time”, the time needed to locate and execute a desired function, and thus it takes longer to program the VCR. The general structure of the search time in programming a VCR is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1. Other problems arise from the layout and coding of the buttons. A study performed by Kamran Abedini and George Hadad in 1987 entitled “Guidelines for Designing Better VCRs”, Report No. IME 462, Feb. 4, 1987, California State Polytechnic University, incorporated herein by reference, has shown that varying the shape of the remote control device is more effective than varying its size. In addition, they found that color coding and adequate contrast can effect a significant improvement in programming performance. Abedini and Kamran, in “An Ergonomically-improved Remote Control Unit Design”, Interface '87 Proceedings, 375-380 (1987), incorporated herein by reference, found that 78% of the people surveyed favored direct entry numbers (0-9) in addition to labels, symbols, discrete volume switches, and channel up/down buttons for casual searching. In addition, the people surveyed preferred remote controls which fit comfortably into their hand.
Many techniques have been used to facilitate the programming of devices such as VCRs, including:                Display Panels (1982)—Programmed with the aid of an LED display panel on the front of the machine.        Programming Via Remote Control (1983)—Programmed using a remote control device with keys for input.        On-Screen Displays (1984)—Programmed by a series of menus on the television screen.        Bar Code Scanners (1987)—Programmed by a wand passing over a series of lines, which are decoded and then transmitted to the VCR.        Light Pens (1987)—Programmed by aiming a pointing device with a light beam sensor at the television is screen, which allows timing signals to be extracted to determine the position of the device with respect to the screen, and hence, the intended instruction.        Video Program System Signal Transmitters (1988)—The VCR is programmed by entering the unique code number of a desired program to record, which is emitted by television stations in West Germany as videotext digital signals associated with each program.        Phone Lines (1989)—Programmed over a telephone line at from a remote location. The numeric keys on the phone are the input keys.        Video Memories (1989)—Programmed by a computer from a remote location. For example, a user contacts a service, who then records certain programs at a user's request. These can be characterized in a number of ways, e.g. comedies, movies, etc. and the service will then manually scan the broadcast schedules for these provided characterizations and record the desired programs.        Voice Coaches (1990)—Programmed by responding to voice instructions, e.g. speech prompts, from the remote control.        
As the technology becomes more mature, and VCRs and other types of programmable consumer electronic devices become less expensive, a proportionally less-educated segment of society will be confronted with these devices. While education and ability to program a VCR are not necessarily correlated, the present invention is directed toward improving the interface to allow all segments of the population to effectively interface with these programmable devices. By making the user interface more intuitive, and facilitating program entry by all levels of users, the present method and apparatus allow a manufacturer to produce a single device, without regard to the ability of the user to learn the programming steps. It is also noted that, because of their previous inability to provide a programmable consumer electronic device with various user interface levels, manufacturers have had to compromise the programming power of their user interface to allow less than advanced users to program it, or to compromise the usability of the device in order to make the full programming power available.